Wout van Aert content with cyclocross season opener at Azencross Loenhout: "That's a shame, because a second or third place was still possible"
Cyclocross
Wout van Aert made his much-anticipated return to cyclocross but faced a challenging outing in his season opener. Despite a strong start, Van Aert ultimately finished off the podium, though he remained optimistic about his performance at the Azencross Loenhout.
"That's a shame, because a second or third place was still possible," Van Aert said in an interview with Wielerflits.
The Belgian began the race with energy, securing the front at the first corner and leading the field into the first lap. Reflecting on his start, he explained: “It actually took a long time before I was in my pedal, but there was still room to move up. That way I was able to finish the first lap in the lead. That was a good lap. When Mathieu accelerated, it was actually mainly technically not good. I tried to join again, but that was too much.”
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Later in the race, Van Aert found himself collaborating with Thibau Nys, which helped them gain ground. “After that I had a good companion with Thibau Nys. We worked well together and were able to catch up with Laurens Sweeck. It's a shame that I fell after that. That wasn't because of Thibau, but because of a spectator who was hanging over the course,” he said.
Despite the setbacks, Van Aert saw positives in his performance. “I'm certainly happy with the feeling, but a second or third place was still possible. But I'm happy with the feeling, it was a successful day. I didn't expect to be riding like this already.”
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Looking ahead, Van Aert shared his plans for the coming weeks. “Now I'm going to do a good training week and then it's time for the races of Gullegem and Dendermonde. Those will be two tough races,” he concluded.
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- He would still be faster on the course riding his cyclocross bike than in his Lambo!Pogboom28-12-2024
- i love the spirit of any of these younger guys who will say out loud I WANT TO TRY TO FOLLOW MATHIEU. they know plenty well what that means. vanthourenhout, eli, lars and company have kinda been beaten into submission by years trying and failing to keep up with mvdp. i feel for them, seriously. but it’s great to see younger riders show up and take their turn, full of hope.OCexile28-12-2024
- The nice thing about World Tour cycling is it never goes the way you think it ill, haha. Tadej breaking away so far out in the Worlds? Remco doubling up in Paris?
ScottG27-12-2024 - Pretty classy comments by Jonas. Makes me like him even more.ScottG27-12-2024
- MVDP is simply a cross "machine" - amazing to watch.ScottG27-12-2024
- yes, Jonas said that he had lost a little muscle mass. In the other hand, also Tadej changed his physique: thin, more lighter than ever, legs and glutes well defined (finally, no more junior legs). Both were more lighter than ever but Pogi could put more muscle in legs and glutes.
maria2024202427-12-2024 - He can keep contending for Vuelta podium spots. A lot would need to go wrong for others and everything right for him to get on the Giro podium. He'll only be on the TdF podium if he's becomes a podium presenter.Veganpotter27-12-2024
- I like that, mind if I use it from now on? Better than using his name which always gets me worried about Google hits and giving him the excuse he was bound to behave the way he did from the derived verb.Mistermaumau27-12-2024
- This website needs clicks so just vacuums up what is available and loves anything that creates discussion.Mistermaumau27-12-2024
- Their battles are only interesting or special when both are in good shape and unfortunately it’s been a few years since that was last the case, road cycling tends to put an end to most side careers, MVDP still being a rare exception.Mistermaumau27-12-2024